The palace, as well as the whole complex, was created at the initiative of the papal nepot – Cardinal Scipione Borghese. Situated near the residence of Pope Paul V on Quirinal Hill it was used by both the pope’s nephew as well as by guests who were often invited by him and who could feel as if they were in the real Arcadia. The building façade was decorated with ancient sculptures and reliefs and enriched with pilasters. These elements were to a large extent obtained from the Baths of Constantine which used to be located here and which were destroyed as a result of works on the palace arrangements, but also from other places in Rome, which Scipione Borghese surveyed with great scrutiny selecting the most interesting bas-reliefs, sarcophaguses and architectural details.

The interior of the place was all centered around one painting which brought recognition both for its patron as well as its creator. Its topic is Aurora and it is from her that the building took on its name. The author of this work created in 1614, most likely the best of all his Roman works, was the favorite painter of the Borghese family, Guido Reni. The fresco found in the central room of the pavilion, depicts Apollo’s (the god of light) chariot with personifications of Hours accompanying it, which is preceded by Aurora – the goddess of the dawn - throwing flowers. Above this group is another personification – The Morningstar (with a lit torch), while the whole scene takes place on a coastal landscape. The painting, therefore depicts the moment of light rising above the Earth – this mysterious moment of solstice, the daily metamorphosis, in which from the darkness of night, awakes the light of day.

In the rooms located next to it, other painters of those times (Paolo Bril, Antonio Tempesta, Giovanni Baglione, and Domenico Cresti) created frescoes finishing the central scene. In the interiors of the building ancient treasures, paintings, sculptures and furniture, can all be seen.

The designers of this building and the garden arrangements were Flaminio Ponzio and Giovanni Vasanzio, the very same ones who had worked for the cardinal on another park and palace arrangements (Villa Borghese). However, Scipione, sold the property, a few years after it was completed, while subsequent owners were not able to keep it for very long, until the year 1704 when it was bought by Giovanni Battista Rospigliosi (the nephew of Pope Clement IX) and his wife Maria Camilla Pallavicini. Their sons divided the family name, property and art gallery amongst themselves. In 1920 the Rospigliosi branch of the family as a result of a financial crisis was forced to sell some of its properties, including works of art. The remaining branch, Pallavicinis, kept its rights to the palace, and its representatives still inhabit it today. The family possesses one of the more important collections of art in Rome, which includes approximately five hundered paintings, sculptures and drawings.

The garden which is part of the palace is adorned with picturesque statues of deities of rivers – Po and Tiber, created by Francesco Landini at the beginning of the XVII century in the image of those, which adorned the Baths of Constantine and which were transferred to Piazza del Campidoglio from there.